Sustainable Operation of Fine-Dining Restaurants: Antecedents and Consequences of Customers’ Self-Image Congruity at a Cantonese Michelin-Starred Restaurant Based on the Value-Attitude-Behavior Model

Abstract

With the current rapid economic development, restaurant practitioners need to pay attention to the issue of how fine-dining restaurants can achieve sustainable operations in the presence of fierce competition. Fine-dining restaurants have gradually become a reflection of consumers’ self-image; therefore, this study combines the VAB framework, self-congruity theory, and generational theory to investigate the relationships among perceived quality, customers’ self-image congruity, and their willingness to pay a price premium (WTP-PP). Current research uses generation as a moderator to explore the intergenerational differences between Gen X and Gen Y. We adopted Smart-PLS to conduct SEM and MGA. The results of this study showed that the quality of the atmosphere and food induced actual, ideal, and ideal social self-image congruity, while the quality of the service could not only induce the above three aspects of self-consistency but also induce social self-image congruity and have a significant positive impact on WTP-PP. Meanwhile, WTP-PP was also significantly affected by actual self-image congruity and ideal self-image congruity. Furthermore, Gen Yers cared more about the atmosphere quality than Gen X. Contrarily, Gen Xers valued food quality more than Gen Y.